Archive for the 'Tips & Techniques' Category

Let’s face it. Learning Japanese seems like a daunting task. You’ve got your hands full with new alphabet systems, grammar structures, formality levels and expressions…not knowing where to start, tackling this language and its nuances may be overwhelming. Luckily, the team at JapanesePod101 is dedicated to ensuring your linguistic success.

As a foreign language enthusiast, I’ve flirted with a fair share of online learning sites (especially for Japanese), but none of them were ever the one my heart was looking for. I had almost completely given up my pursuit of Japanese, until JapanesePod101 made me fall in love with learning.

Why JapanesePod101 Works:

Fun AND Free! How often do you see this combo?! Really though, JapanesePod101 takes away the stress and monotony that most online language sites induce. No more clicking through boring flashcards! Instead, indulge your senses in an audio-visual treat with native speaking hosts, to learn everything from famous Japanese quotes, to essential vocab for Star Wars Day.

Where to Start:From Absolute Beginner to Advanced fluency flexer, JapanesePod101 has got you covered. As soon as you log in, your dashboard guides you on a learning path to help you master Japan and its language. You can choose to start from the beginning or jump to a learning path that suits you best.

Customize to Optimize: JapanesePod101 grants you creative liberty to tailor-make your own lessons. They’ll help you navigate your way through hiragana, katakana, kanji, and even the streets of Tokyo if you so choose. You learn what you want, when you want.

Convenience at the Core:With an accompanying mobile application, you can master Japanese while riding the subway to work, waiting in line for lunch, or sitting on the couch when your computer is just out of arm’s reach. You can view and finish lessons as slow or fast as you want, working best for your schedule.

Retain and Remember: After finishing a lesson, there are accompanying assessments to help ensure that you’ve actually learned what you intended to. You can take the assessments as many times as you want, so if you’re ever feeling rusty, these mini-tests are a great refresher.

A JapanesePod101 account is a Free Lifetime Account, which means exactly as it sounds. You can use JapanesePod101’s resources forever, and for free. So what are you waiting for? That kanji isn’t going to memorize itself!

Learn 4 tools and techniques to stop translating in your head and start thinking in Japanese

Going through Japanese lessons is enough to get by and learn the basics of Japanese, but to truly become fluent you need to be able to think in Japanese. This will allow you to have conversations with ease, read smoothly, and comprehensively understand natives. To do this, you need to go beyond just completing daily or weekly lessons.

We naturally translate in our heads because it’s viewed as the easiest way to learn the definitions needed when learning a language. This way of learning can actually hinder your skills and fluency later on. If your brain has to make neural connections between the word you’re learning, what it means in your native tongue, and the physical object the connection will not be nearly as strong. When you bypass the original translation between Japanese and your native language then there is a more basic and strong connection between just the Japanese vocabulary word and the tangible object.

In this blog post, you will learn the 4 important techniques to easily and naturally begin to speculate about the daily occurrences in your life. The best part is all of these techniques are supported and can be achieved through JapanesePod101.com.

By surrounding yourself with Japanese constantly you will completely immerse yourself in the language. Without realizing it you’ll be learning pronunciation, sentence structures, grammar, and new vocabulary. You can play music in the background while you’re cooking or have a Japanese radio station on while you study. Immersion is a key factor with this learning process because it is one of the easiest things to do, but very effective. Even if you are not giving the program your full attention you will be learning.

One great feature of JapanesePod101.com is the endless podcasts that are available to you. You can even download and listen to them on the go. These podcasts are interesting and are perfect for the intention of immersion, they are easy to listen to as background noise and are interesting enough to give your full attention. Many of them contain stories that you follow as you go through the lessons which push you to keep going.

2. Learn through observation

Learning through observation is the most natural way to learn. Observation is how we all learned our native languages as infants and it’s a wonder why we stop learning this way. If you have patience and learn through observation then Japanese words will have their own meanings rather than meanings in reference to your native language. Ideally you should skip the bilingual dictionary and just buy a dictionary in Japanese.

JapanesePod101.com also offers the materials to learn this way. We have numerous video lessons which present situational usage of each word or phrase instead of just a direct translation. For example, in on JapanesePod101.com we have a video about how to ride the bus we tell you to say “Dozo” when offering your seat instead of just saying that it means go ahead. This holds true for many of our videos and how our videos and how we teach Japanese.

3. Speak out loud to yourself

Speaking to yourself in Japanese not only gets you in the mindset of Japanese, but also makes you listen to how you speak. It forces you to correct any errors with pronunciation and makes it easy to spot grammar mistakes. When you speak out loud talk about what you did that day and what you plan to do the next day. Your goal is to be the most comfortable speaking out loud and to easily create sentences. Once you feel comfortable talking to yourself start consciously thinking in your head about your daily activities and what is going on around you throughout the day.

With JapanesePod101.com you start speaking right away, not only this, but they have you repeat words and conversations after a native Japanese speaker. This makes your pronunciation very accurate! With this help you are on the fast path to making clear and complex sentences and then actively thinking about your day.

4. Practice daily

If you don’t practice daily then your progress will be greatly slowed. Many people are tempted to take the 20-30 minutes they should be practicing a day and practice 120 in one day and skip the other days. This isn’t nearly as effective because everyday you practice you are reinforcing the skills and knowledge you have learned. If you practice all in one day you don’t retain the information because the brain can realistically only focus for 30 minutes at most. If you’re studying for 120 minutes on the same subject little of the information will be absorbed. Studying everyday allows you to review material that you went over previous days and absorb a small amount of information at a time.

It’s tough to find motivation to study everyday, but JapanesePod101.com can help. It’s easy to stay motivated with JapanesePod101.com because we give you a set learning path, with this path we show how much progress you’ve made. This makes you to stick to your goals and keep going!

Conclusion

Following the steps and having patience is the hardest part to achieving your goals, it’s not easy learning a new language. You are essentially teaching your brain to categorize the world in a completely new way. Stick with it and you can do it just remember the 4 tools I taught you today! With them conversations, reading, and understanding will become much easier. The most important thing to remember is to use the tools that JapanesePod101.com provides and you will be on your way to being fluent!

I have visited Japan for three times, and each time this country always surprise me with its culture, scenery and people. As a dancer, I have attended many workshop and classes in Tokyo, and met many inspirational people.

However, the biggest problem that came up to me is the language barrier. I have had problem to communicate with people about my ideas, stories. As we all known, communication is the most important thing for a friendship. So I started to look for online lessons, since taking actual classes is not possible for me, and I would rather save the money by finding some low budget online tutorial.

That’s when JapanesePod101 popped up to me. I have used it for a year, and I can’t deny that JapanesePod101 has provided me enormous help with my Japanese learning.

Here are the reason why I chose JapanesePod101, and also why you should too!

Easy Access

In this fast paced society, efficiency is the core to survive. JapanesePod101 gives you the efficiency with high quality content to boost up your language learning process. Language learning becomes much more easier from one click through the website or through your smart phone. With this prestige, you can learn Japanese on the bus, go to school, in the bathroom… WHENEVER and WHEREVER you want. ( Well, but please be safe, don’t want you bump into a car while you learning)

Down to Earth

One problem about language learning is that those materials you got are so out of date, and you start to sound like an ancient person coming out of the cave. Language changes through time, people creates new slangs, dialect, or even words. So if you want to talk with your Japanese friends and also keep up your coolness, you must try JapanesePod101. They have native instructors to help you sounds like a local. The material is always keep up with current events and society, which offers many down-to-earth information. Want to make your Japanese speaking on fleek? Try JapanesePod101.

Systematic Learning

It is hard to start learning a new language. Many people gets really confused when they first start, since they don’t have a guide path to follow. Sometimes you want to learn slangs, the other time you just want to remember kanjis. It’s never going to work without a good guide. Thus language learning needs to be systematic to set up a good path for language learners. That’s why JapanesePod101 provides to its users with lessons focused on different levels, and a community to share your progress. It helps you start from the scratch, and boost you to higher level. You can also find other people’s experience, and make study buddies by simply join the community provided by JapanesePod101.

CHEAP!!

One last thing, it’s cheap! You can learn Japanese by just saving money for one meal or one shot from the bar. Everyone loves cheap and good stuff, and you get your value back by rocking on fluent Japanese.

Accessing a lesson once is enough to learn more Japanese. But to master what you’ve learned, to understand Japanese the second you hear it, to read with just a quick glance, and to speak smoothly, without thinking… you need to review.

In this blog post, you’ll learn the 5 review tactics and learning tools that will truly sharpen your Japanese (all of which I’ve been able to resources for on JapanesePod101.com).

One of the best ways to learn Japanese (or any language) is to listen to native speakers over and over again until you understand what they are saying. By listening closely and often, you start to pick up the rhythm of a language and pronunciation from a native speaker. It’s not surprising, then, that Innovative Language offers a great line-by-line feature that lets you listen (and read along!) as many times as you’d like. I really recommend taking advantage of this feature— aside from moving to Japan, it is the best way to immerse yourself in the language.

2. Use a voice-recording tool to perfect pronunciation.

No one likes to hear themselves recorded, but it is a great way to perfect your pronunciation! Record yourself and compare against a fluent speaker. If you sound different, repeat after the fluent speaker until your pronunciation matches. Innovative Language has a great voice-recording feature that makes recording super easy. Never hesitate or be shy about your pronunciation again.

3. Master recorded conversations.

Another excellent way to review your Japanese is to record conversations and go over them again and again until you have the entire conversation mastered and can repeat it line by line. Now, it might be kind of awkward trying to explain to someone why you are recording them speak so it is fortunate that Innovative Language has dialogues available for download right off of their website. I found these also come with transcripts of the entire conversation, which is great if you don’t want to spend tons of time translating the conversation yourself.

4. Use mobile devices to reinforce previously learned conversations.

It might sound redundant at this point, but constant review is the best, and only, way to perfect Japanese. In that spirit, I strongly recommend downloading the recorded dialogue to your mobile device and incorporating it into your music playlist. You’ll be amazed how effectively quick reviews throughout a day can reinforce what you’ve learned.

The guaranteed accurate transcript of the recorded dialogues is one of the most useful features Innovative Language offers. You can read along with a fluent speaker to really master pronunciation and natural conversation. You should start slow at first, then slowly increase the speed with each pass through. Every time you read through, your pronunciation will become more intuitive and your ability to understand fluent speakers will greatly increase.

Imagine a child who just learned how to read. At first, they slowly struggle through a sentence, but on the second try, they know what the most of the words sound like and so they read a bit faster and easier and on the third try, they read that sentence at normal, native speed.

Using these five simple review techniques the most challenging parts of learning Japanese will become your areas of comfort. Conversations will no longer be excruciating and embarrassing, but rather offer a chance to show off your new skills and communicate with someone from a different culture in their natural language. You will be able to casually listen to Japanese and understand everything. Reading, too, will become natural and enjoyable.

Learning any language takes time and dedication. With the right focus, however, you can ensure the maximum impact of your efforts. Consistently listening to fluent speakers, recording your own voice and comparing it against fluent speakers, mastering conversations, listening to them on go, and following along with written transcripts will put you on the path to becoming fluent in Japanese. Learn from the mistakes that so many have made, myself included, don’t let what you’ve already learned slip away.

Every Japanese learner will have these fears – “I’m not good enough yet.” “I don’t think I’m making any progress.” “What if I never reach my goals?” Japanese learning fears – we all get them from time to time. What are yours? And are they worth being scared of?

In this blog post, we’re killing the top 4 Japanese learning fears – 1) what are the fears learners tend to have the most and 2) how you can overcome them!

Here are the top 4 language learning fears according to our users:

1. “I’m not good enough to start speaking yet.”

Do you feel like you’re not good enough to start speaking yet? It’s a pretty common fear or misconception that most learners have. Here’s how you overcome it:

The best way to get good at speaking is to start speaking from day 1.
So if you’re holding yourself back, because you think you’re not good enough, well, that’s exactly why you’re not good enough. You need to open your mouth and start talking!

If you think you’re not good enough, just learn Japanese lines you want to say!
In our lessons, you get the exact phrases and scripts for introducing yourself making small talk, ordering food, expressing opinions, and much more! So if you think you’re not good enough, the lessons will give you the exact lines to say.

Many successful Japanese learners worried about that, only as a beginner. They started learning Japanese and, it’s funny because the better their Japanese got, the less they were worried about that. So, how can you overcome this?

You’ve got to set small, specific goals.
Fluency is a big vague goal. Arguably, we don’t even speak fluent in our native language. There are over a million words and we use about 2,000 words only. So you should focus on smaller goals like being able to introduce yourself or having a 5-minute conversation. Or 10 minutes. Something you can measure so you know you reached it because you can’t really measure fluency. It’s a pretty vague goal! But you can measure small goals like having a 5-minute conversation. And as these small goals add up, you’ll be speaking very comfortably!

In other words, getting stuck. If you’re afraid you’re not making progress, there are two things you can do right now.

Use the dashboard to track your progress.
If you need numbers to believe it, our dashboard tracks all the lessons you’ve completed and shows how much you’ve accomplished.

Try a harder lesson on the site.
It sounds crazy and you might not understand it but you will in minutes. Our lessons come with line-by-line translations and the lesson hosts explain everything. THEN, you’ll be making progress because you now understand something you didn’t minutes ago.

This is very common. You hear advanced grammar and vocabulary and it goes completely over your head. To beat this…

If you’re taking an advanced lesson, simply read along.
Reading along with our line-by-line tool is the best way to instantly understand advanced conversations. The translations and scripts are right in front of you.

For real-life situations, learn useful phrases.
Like “Can you say it more slowly?,” “Can you use simpler words?” or “I don’t understand what that meant.” There’s nothing wrong with saying that you didn’t understand something or with asking for help. And our Survival Phrases lessons cover must-know phrases like this.

Howdy people, my name is Thomas. I’m a blogger and huge Japanese enthusiast. Today I’m going to review www.JapanesePod101.com and give you guys a 100% honest opinion on it. I am not being paid or otherwise compensated for this, and all opinions are my own. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m brutally honest and blunt, so I won’t pull punches in a review. That said, enjoy.

My first impression of JapanesePod101.com was that it looked a lot like what I had come to expect from language learning sites, from Rosetta Stone to Duolingo, I knew the drill and the layout of the main page was the same, bare-bones info page that I always see when I go to a site with a landing page that tries to get you to sign up right away. By comparison, ILL’s main site is much more informative about the company and their services, and actually convinced me to try them out in the first place. Perhaps I’m just too jaded to be taken in like many consumers by a simple ad. I want more info than what they share with their marketing spin all over it. I want facts, features, simply stated and without divisive wording so present in marketing pitches.

The negatives pretty much stop there. This service is wonderful! After signing up, you get a straight-talk offer to get a huge upgrade for a dollar of bandwidth. I took the offer, naturally, though I later had an issue with backing out of the $25 a month subscription it signed me up on. I didn’t realize I could just change my settings for the auto-renewal. It is enabled by default, but when I forgot, they were good about refunding me. I had my money back within a week, not bad for communicating across the globe to do it.

The dashboard takes a bit to get used to, but once you figure out what everything does and where it all leads, it is extremely useful and well-designed, though I would prefer if the lesson videos and series videos were organized the same way. I found that I could find some lessons through the actual lessons tab, and others by picking through the series videos. Maybe I just got turned around in the interface but I didn’t feel like I had a good way to get a singular overview of every single lesson to know how much they covered.

Now we come to the best part, and the reason why I truly endorse JapanesePod101.com. The lessons themselves. Oh, my, god. These people know how to teach Japanese. The videos don’t just teach vocabulary and hope you can pick up the pronunciation by imitation like Rosetta Stone tries to. And unlike that same product, which I used before, JPod never talks down to you or treats you like a child. Rosetta Stone seriously showed me juice and milk to teach me how to say the Japanese words ジュース＆ぎゅうにゅう one of which is just the same word in katakana, which they don’t explain, and the other is never used anymore, instead they use the katakana’d version of it too! Not JPod, they treat you like an intelligent student right off the bat, explaining the basic structure of the language and rolling it right into vocab.

I loved how Risa explained a lot of the concepts, and much to my pleasant surprise, they didn’t just cover lists of words and pronunciation, though they have tons of word lists and very good pronunciation guides. No, my favorite part is that they covered grammar! You have no idea how much, as a student who learned under tutors and college for all of my Japanese learning journey up to now, how infuriating it is to not have the grammar explained! If you know conjugations of verbs, you can teach yourself so many words just from hearing them and reverse engineering them to dictionary form! Risa does an amazing job of walking you through the grammar points and makes them not feel so scary as grammar was for many people who hated taking English.

One big negative that I have to nick them for though, is the teaching style. Now I’m not talking about the lessons themselves, I mean the overall organization of the lessons. Because you can freely float around between lessons, they don’t build upon each other. I am only in semester 3 of Japanese, and I could hop into Advanced and while I didn’t necessarily find it stuff I already knew, I had no difficulty understanding the lessons and mastering the content. If I tried to do that with a college course, I’d get lost very fast. That sounds like a positive at first, but the problem is that you can’t push your students if you make everything somewhat accessible to people with a good grip on the language already. Perhaps they have more structured or difficult content in other areas, but the lessons from Absolute Beginner through Advanced seemed to have no difficulty curve at all which means they wouldn’t push me to get better.

It’s a delicate balance, trying to appeal to masses while also pushing every one of those people to “git gud”, believe me, I know. But in the business of teaching language, you have to make a decision on whether you’ll push your users or make everything more accessible to them so they can learn more content easier. I feel like if the lessons were more rigidly structured in points and built upon previous lessons it would work better. Perhaps if it was organized more like a game where you progress down a linear path but have branches where you can head off into side paths of learning and explore things that are at the same level as what you’re learning now, it would be more effective.

Honestly, I would love to see JPod get into Tangential Learning and “gamify” their content a bit. This IS on the internet after all, most people are used to games from their phones and tablets by now, so they won’t be unfamiliar to basic game UI. That said, this is getting a bit more into “I wish” territory.

All in all, I would highly recommend JPod for anyone interested in learning a language from the ground up or as preparation to get into college courses. It is far better than most of the other kinds of software and websites I have been to, mostly because the videos are very well organized and presented, with comprehensive learning material teaching the basic workings of the language as well as the grammar structures along with vocabulary.

Do you remember holding your first Game Boy? Do you remember the “Golden Age” of Japanese video games? I bet it was the reason to start learning Japanese in the first place for some of us. And you are here reading this article, so you probably have a keen interest in video games!

If you are learning Japanese and you do like video games, this is perfect. By knowing how to read Hiragana and Katakana, and with a bit of foundation in Japanese grammar, I have the pleasure to announce that you unlocked a new achievement: Playing video games to practice Japanese!

After a long day of work or school, sitting down at your desk with an other textbook might be the last thing you want to do. It is a way more fun to use our entertaining audio and video podcasts related to everyday life topics, but video games could supplement your studying. It would be misleading to say any video game can teach you Japanese, but as a supplement of JapanesePod101.com, it appears to be a legitimate and fun tool to study.

Nowadays, more and more games offer you the opportunity to change the language settings to be in Japanese, they are not region locked or requiring to buy a Japanese system anymore. From Animal Crossing to Final Fantasy, choose a game, and check those tips for studying by playing!

1. Choose a genuinely fun game. It’s your chance to have a good time while learning. It shouldn’t be a chore! Take your time and go easy, you don’t want to get bored quickly or to suffocate because learning too much at once. You don’t need to stop and look up for every single word or kanji you don’t know. If you can understand the meaning of the sentence through the context, you can go on, otherwise you will get bored really quickly.

2. Start with a game you are familiar with. It will make it easier to know the framework of the story and understand the context. Try to avoid horror games, you could assimilate negative emotion from the game to studying. It would be difficult to learn Japanese while associating it to the sensation of fear!

3. Take notes while playing game. When you face unknown expressions, just pause the game, and write it down on your notebook. Once you are done playing, use a dictionary and look up each of the words. Learn those new words among other things you are already studying. As the same vocabulary words are often used over and over again, your list might get shorter and shorter.

4. Enable Japanese subtitles. It will help you to identify unknown words and kanji. It will be useful as far as you’re using a dictionary while you play. If you prefer to play with English subtitles make sure you are not only focused on subtitles but also on the Japanese voices. If you realize you are only reading English, better switch everything to Japanese or it won’t be of any help.

5. Make real-world friends. A lot of games offer you the opportunity to connect with people online while playing online. Depending on the game, it could be “learn or die”, you won’t be able to go further if you are not able to communicate with other players. You will meet people sharing the same interest. Just plug in your headset and enjoy conversing with native speakers, which will improve your speaking and listening skills. While playing online and through forums and gaming community, you can get the benefit of immersion.

If you don’t have the resources required to play but you really want to learn Japanese with video games, there is a solution for you: YouTube. Today is the golden age of “Let’s Play” videos on the platform, video showing game walkthroughs. Those video offer you some gameplay clips with audio commentaries by the gamer explaining every step. It can a great listening practice, a native speaker addressing to the viewers in an everyday life Japanese, sometimes using some slang you won’t find in any textbooks! Risa’s adventure videos can also be an alternative full of cuteness and a good material to improve your level! Here is the reason why you should learn slang if you want to become fluent!

Yes, Japanese learning games and even video games can help you learn and master Japanese faster and improve overall comprehension. Research studies have concluded that video games enhance traditional learning methods and make mastering a new language like Japanese fun and exciting. Without the firm foundation in grammar and vocabulary provided by conventional learning programs, however, you will not be able to learn Japanese with games alone. But when you combine the solid educational foundation like you’ll get at JapanesePod101 with the benefits of Japanese learning games, you learn faster and retain more than with traditional learning alone.

Let’s now take a look at three of the biggest benefits of using video games to learn Japanese:

Video Games Help Improve Linguistic Skills and Cognitive Development

When combined with a solid foundation in vocabulary and grammar, video games help students improve reading, comprehension, and even speaking skills. The results are even more pronounced in struggling students. According to a recent national survey, more than 78% of teachers noted that learning games, even video games, were effective in helping struggling students compensate for learning gaps in their traditional studies.

So how do Japanese learning games, or even video games, help students improve their linguistic skills and cognitive development? The key is practice, practice, and more practice!
Learning games and video games naturally require the integration of several linguistic skills including reading, listening, speaking, and even writing in some games. And by removing the fear of making mistakes so common in students in traditional classroom settings, students are free to practice the language and further develop their linguistic and cognitive abilities in the process.

Students naturally learn faster and comprehend more when they are forced to use the information often and in real-world situations, even the fake ones created by Japanese learning games and video games. Essentially, this is immersion-based learning or contextual learning very similar to what one experiences when living abroad and being forced to interact with people in another language. So by providing both context and constant feedback, video games allow students to actually use the knowledge they gain in classrooms or conventional study to learn and master Japanese or any new language faster.

Japanese Learning Games Make Studying Fun and Alleviate Stress

Homework, quizzes, tests, and even in-class assignments can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety in students, particularly those who may be struggling to keep up. This stress and anxiety can actually derail a student’s progress and cause them to feel isolated from their more successful peers. But video games and even most learning games are the great equalizer because they help alleviate stress, increase social engagement, and yes, even help students have fun while learning Japanese or any new language.
In fact, research recently published in The Washington Post shows a wide range of health benefits from video games and learning games including the fact that they:

Help Reduce or Alleviate Symptoms of Depression

Help Reduce or Alleviate Symptoms of Insomnia

Help Alleviate Transitory Stress Symptoms

Scientists have indeed discovered that not only can you learn Japanese or any new language faster thanks to video games, they can also provide a wide range of potential health benefits as well. However, learning languages through video games alone is not really a feasible alternative to progressive, structured learning like you find in classrooms or programs like JapanesePod101.

While great supplemental learning tools, video games and even more formal learning games are simply no substitute for structured learning programs for two reasons:

Learning Games Not Designed to Provide a Foundation in Grammar or Vocabulary: Without the foundation provided by structured Japanese learning (classroom or online), video games or even language learning games only teach specific phrases and concepts. Now within the context of the video game, these phrases and concepts make sense but most would have little practical value in the real world.

Lessons Are Not Structured or Progressive in Nature: Structured learning requires students to be provided with basic building blocks of knowledge (like grammar or vocab lessons) that are then expanded upon in a progressive fashion until mastery. Video games and even many language learning games really only quiz and reinforce what students already know instead of providing structured lessons that can be built upon for future learning.

Japanese learning games and even video games are great supplemental tools to help students learn and master a language faster. Scientific studies and recent research reveal that video games can help contextualize formal lessons from structured learning, enhance linguistic skills, alleviate stress, and even provide a wide range of potential health benefits. However, learning languages through video games (even learning games) has limitations and is no substitute for structured lessons that provide a firm foundation in vocabulary and grammar.

JapanesePod101 is the world’s most advanced online learning system with more than 2500+ HD video lessons created by real Japanese instructors. With more than 500 million lesson downloads and 10,000’s of success stories, JapanesePod101 can provide you with a world-class foundation in vocabulary and grammar.

Not only is it possible to learn Japanese in your car, there are 3 great benefits that will help you master the language faster and with less effort.

With everyone so pressed for time these days, it might seem like a daydream to believe that you could learn Japanese in your car—but it’s not! Thanks to a wide range of new technologies and resources, learning a language in your car is easier than ever. Not only is it easy to learn a language while driving, there are actually a number of benefits, especially if the lessons are part of a structured learning program like JapanesePod101. Here are three specific benefits to learning Japanese or any other new language in your car.

How much time do you spend commuting to and from work? Learning a language in your car transforms your commute time into tangible progress towards your dream. So instead of being stressed over how much time you are “wasting” on errands and daily commutes, you can decompress and have some fun while you learn Japanese in your car!

2. Daily Exposure Leads to Passive Learning

Practice makes perfect and learning a new language is no different. The daily exposure you get when you learn Japanese while driving helps improve listening comprehension, pronunciation, and of course helps build vocabulary and improve grammar. Don’t worry: You don’t need to memorize everything as you listen in Japanese while driving. Just having continuous exposure to a foreign language helps you improve your vocabulary, learn faster, and ultimately retain more through passive learning.

3. Learning While Driving is Fun

Learning a new language does require a serious commitment, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun! When you learn Japanese in your car, you get to take some time away from the PC or smartphone and immerse yourself in the language instead of just “studying” it.

Plus, there are a number of “fun” activities that you can do and still learn in your car, such as:
- Singing Along with Japanese Songs
- Playing Word Games or Trivia
- Just Listening Along and Seeing How Much You Can Pick Up and Understand

Yes, you can learn a language while driving and have loads of fun doing it. Now let’s take a look at some specific things you can listen to while driving to help you learn a new language.

BONUS: 3 Ways to Learn Japanese in Your Car

-Listen to Podcasts: Typically designed to focus on one topic or lesson, podcasts are a great way to learn a language while driving. Unfortunately, podcasts are rarely at the same listening/comprehension level as the language learner so listeners may not get their full value. But at JapanesePod101, our podcasts are created for every skill level so you don’t waste any time on material that isn’t relevant or suited to your exact needs.

-Sing Along to Japanese Songs: Remember, just immersing yourself in a language can create passive learning and improve your pronunciation. Plus, with JapanesePod101, you can sing along and memorize the lyrics, and then look the words up and add them to your personal dictionary.

-Playing Word Games or Trivia: There are audio games available online that you can download to any media device and listen to on your commute. Although we recommend this option for more advanced users, games are a fun and productive way to learn Japanese in your car because they require listening and comprehension skills.

You won’t recognize or understand every word you hear in a Japanese song, podcast, or game—but that’s ok. The daily repetition and immersion in the language leads to passive learning that gradually increases your knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. And the greater your foundation in grammar and vocabulary, the more you’ll understand and learn from the audio lessons, podcasts, or whatever you listen to while learning Japanese in your car.

Yes, you can learn Japanese while driving because it leads to passive learning via daily immersion in the language. Although you may not understand all or even most of what you hear at first, the exposure helps improve pronunciation, vocabulary, and even grammar over time. Learning a language while driving also helps transform your commute into exciting “exotic adventures” that secretly teach you Japanese in the process. Podcasts, songs, and even games can all help you learn Japanese in your car while eliminating the “boring commute” in the process!